“Catch and Release” Anti-Piracy Policies

The Somali piracy problem is not really a military one. No one doubts that the world’s modern navies can overwhelm any pirates they find.  The problem is really administrative and legal.  For instance, France’s recent reported capture of more Somalia-based pirates is kind of cool, but what has really been accomplished. According to this report, France is planning to take the (notice the scare quotes) “pirates”, back to Somalia for trial. And there they will either be subjected to treatment that violates the European Convention on Human Rights or, they’ll be released (or possibly both). So count me as skeptical about the effectiveness of these new anti-piracy naval task forces. Without a better legal framework, we are likely going in circles.